Thursday, August 11, 2011

GLOCK

After much consideration, we have decided to re-post our GLOCK video.

We have had a great deal of positive feedback regarding our DVD Never Unarmed and it is particularly telling that the negative comments that we have received have been from individuals who have not seen the DVD or any of the footage in context or in it's entirety.
This short video (comprising of out-of-sequence and out-of-context clips) was simply put together to show just how much we appreciate and enjoy GLOCK products and how much they feature in our DVD.

Two techniques in particular have seemed to cause some controversy. A sequence showing (again out of context) footage of Lynn drawing his firearm at close range and “walking” his rounds into the target, and a sequence entitled “Ripping and Searching Fire” which features shots into a building.
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We spoke to legendary firearms instructor Dave Wheeler of Blue Steel Ranch, and asked him about these techniques.
A Firearms Instructor for the LAPD for 25 years, Dave has also taught firearms and tactics for the State Department's ATAP (Anti-Terrorist Assistance Program) and The Federal Air Marshalls.
Dave has trained elite special forces personnel at Fort Bragg as well as numerous V.I.P and close protection professionals.
He has been training Lynn (in pistol shooting for extreme self-defence) for more than 6 years.

Regarding “walking the rounds into the target”

I worked on this technique with Lynn several years ago. We train for extreme self defense situations, moments when there is no help or backup, when everything is going against you and there is no way out. It's a controversial tactic but it has merit.
What people don't understand is that this is a technique for extraordinary situations, you don't do this if you are just getting stuck up by some punk.
This is a technique for a lawless situation, a time and place where you have no help, no backup and no repercussions. It's a technique for desperate and extreme situations.

I'd like to use the LA Riots as an example. Between 6pm and 1am there was no law!! People were rioting, looting and robbing with abandon. There was no back up, no one was coming to save you.
You had to protect yourself because for that brief crazy period of time, no one had your back!
This particular technique was developed for those moments. It's not ideal and it's not the best option, but it might be your last option.

We trained this drill at close range (around 5 feet) as if you were confronted by an opponent that already had the drop on you. You are behind the draw, you're way behind on the curve and are in imminent danger of grievous bodily harm or death and you have to make a very serious moral decision.
You have to do something. Something to distract them, to jar their nerves and stop them from taking that controlled shot. As soon as you clear the holster you start pulling that trigger. Your ultimate goal of course is to keep firing (as your weapon comes up) at your opponent until you can get a sighted picture. This should distract him, mentally shake him, hopefully injure him and pray that it buys you a fighting chance where before you had none.
Remember, you are already losing! You're 1-1.5 seconds behind on the draw! What are you going to do?
With enough surprise and fear there's a chance he may miss, and that's all you are doing, trying to buy a chance. Create some lag time before he can squeeze that trigger.
This is not a drill to consider when there are repercussions. It's an extreme technique for an extreme situation.

Here's another example. Imagine if here in LA we had an earthquake of the same magnitude as the recent one in Japan. Imagine the chaos, looting, stealing and violent crime that would take place. I know at least in the very short term Law Enforcement would be too busy protecting the infrastructure during this awful event. There would be no patrols! No one would be coming to your aid! You would have to take care of yourself!
Considering a technique as extreme or unconventional as this may just save your life.
This is not a technique that would ever be taught on a public range or in a shooting school. It's dangerous, it's controversial and frankly it's a liability, but it was never developed for a controlled situation in the first place.
What people are misunderstanding about Never Unarmed is that it's not a traditional instructional DVD. It's not there to teach you techniques.
It's a presentation of ideas, it's discussing extreme survival situations, extreme conditions and environments when there is no control, no back up, no law enforcement. It's not saying “do this, do that” it's saying “here's something you may end up doing if you had no other options and your life depended on it”.
This is a technique with great merit in those situations, those exceptionally rare moments when it's pure survival. Think about this DVD in that context. With luck you will never need this, but you should think about it nonetheless.

Regarding “Ripping and Searching Fire”

In any “normal” situation this technique is incredibly irresponsible, but once again, what people are failing to grasp is that this DVD series isn't about normal situations! This technique has merit, but it's only an option when there is total chaos!
It's a vague line and I understand that, but you have to make your own moral choices when your life is at stake. What would you do to survive?
Look at the section of Never Unarmed regarding Airguns. Of course self defense with an Airgun isn't ideal, but it's still valid. It's an option if that's all you've got! That's what this is all about.
This isn't a technique for a controlled environment, it's not ever going to get taught on a public range, it has no place in a world with rules and regulations, but when there is no law and no backup and your life depends on it you sometimes have to take a chance, take your best shot and hope.
This isn't an instructional DVD, it's showing you ideas for the ultimate extreme situations. Things you might have to do to survive at a last resort.
It's not something I would ever encourage (and I'm sure Lynn would agree), it's just a possibility for survival.
I suggest people just watch the DVD. They will see that the entire thing is about those last resort moments and those lawless situations. It's about what to do when you are out of options, and in those situations, those life and death moments – these techniques may well save your life!
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We then spoke to Lynn C Thompson at length about Never Unarmed and these techniques in particular:

I released this highlight reel just to show how much I love GLOCK products.
Never Unarmed is huge! It's over 18 hours of footage, covering a wide range of firearms - and 5% of that footage is just GLOCK!
I am a self confessed “glockaholic” and I wanted to share with fellow GLOCK fans just some of the cool stuff we do with GLOCK products in this DVD series.
It's ridiculous that some people have taken me to task on a small selection of out-of-context clips and it's a shame that they can't just appreciate that this was released purely to show my love of an awesome brand.

Never Unarmed was created to show people a wide range of firearms and their potential for extreme survival, hunting and self defense. It's my personal recommendations for what to acquire, and what to train with.
Its not an instructional DVD and it doesn't have typical self defense scenarios, there are hundreds of DVDs out there already that teach that stuff. This is the first part of a much larger project concerning extreme situations.

This was never intended as an instructional gun fighting DVD, I simply show what I train with and why, and I also go into the pros and cons of all of my choices.
My personal training is informed by many years of hunting around the world and from training with a variety of the world's finest marksmen, self defense experts and firearms instructors
I show how I train snap shooting, point shooting and extreme shooting at a variety of ranges. I test a wide selection of ammo and explore it's potential. I explore fighting from cover (as well as shooting through cover), camouflage, improvised shields, hunting tips I've learned over the years...It's a massive project.

I encourage people to check out my choices and how I use them and then make up their own minds.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a survivalist and I think about these things. I train for the worst and what I do might be considered controversial. But like I said – it's intended to show potential options for the worst possible situations, those extreme survival moments when your life is on the line.
Much of what I do can't be done on public ranges. It's not for Law Enforcement training – those guys have different rules as well as different advantages. Much as I love and admire our Law Enforcement professionals my training isn't the same as theirs. I'm interested in the concept of the armed civilian, the guy who may not have backup. I've trained for many years with a variety of instructors but I've never trained from a Law Enforcement perspective. I think about gun-fighting very differently.

This DVD was always intended for an international audience. We have friends, fans and customers all over the world and not everyone has the same options when it comes to self defense.
I not only explore the limitations of an astounding variety of firearms in this DVD, but I also explore their potential. Not a lot of people even realize the opportunities that some of these weapons can afford you. They don't realize that you can shoot accurately at 200 yards with a 12 gauge, but with practise and training it's possible and it's an option!
That's what this DVD is all about, what options do you have with the weapons at your disposal!

I encourage people to watch this DVD, explore different firearms and their training options and to be Never Unarmed. In our current political climate everyone wants to deny us our weapons!
Learn about what firearms are out there, learn about their potential and their advantages and disadvantages. Explore lots of training options and keep an open mind. Experiment, evolve and learn now while you have that freedom!